Opposition lacks character, public support to protest against accountability process: Fawad Chaudhry

ISLAMABAD: Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry on Monday said that opposition has all the right to protest but the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has decided not to accept any pressure or influence the accountability process aimed at bringing looters of national wealth to book, ARY News reported.

Speaking to media outside parliament after a similar speech in Senate, the minister said that Prime Minister Imran Khan has made it clear that country cannot move forward without holding the looters of national wealth accountable.

“I can’t just comprehend as to why the opposition takes offense when we (the government) say that we will hold looters accountable,” said Chaudhry, adding that the opposition can only stage walkouts from legislatures as it cannot respond to allegations of corruption.

He also dared the opposition leaders to protest if they think they are being wrongly accused or “targeted” in this campaign.

“Our container is free and we welcome you all to use it (for protests) but to stage such a protest one needs strong character and public support and you (the opposition) lack both,” said Chaudhry.

https://arynews.tv/en/fawad-chaudhry-says-pml-ns-mushahidullah-appointed-whole-family-in-pia/

The minister maintained that people of Pakistan know who looted the country and are aware that taxpayers’ money was stolen and laundered.

“A falooda-seller found 2.25billion rupees in his account, another cart vendor found 15million rupees in his account,  so people know what is going on,” said Chaudhry.

https://arynews.tv/en/karachis-cart-vendor-finds-he-has-billions-in-bank-account/

He also responded to the opposition’s claim that the politics of protest or “container politics” still haunts the ruling PTI by saying that his party is a revolutionary party so will never leave the “politics of container”.

“PTI is, was and will remain a revolutionary party and doesn’t believe in traditional politics, such parties can never leave container politics,” said the minister.

Answering a question, Fawad Chaudhry made it clear that the government has nothing to with PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif’s arrest by National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

“This case which led to his arrest was registered in 2017 when PML-N itself was ruling. Several inquiries and the subsequent revelations led to his (Shehbaz Sharif) arrest. NAB is an indenepdent institution so government did not and cannot t influence its activities,” said the minister.

Chaudhry, whose speeches saw walkouts from opposition lawmakers several times in the past, last week accused PML-N Senator Mushahidullah Khan of using his influence to appoint his family members in Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).

“Mushahidullah was himself recruited as a loader in PIA, his brother Mujahidullah Khan is a flight attendant, Rashidullah Khan was made New York station’s operation head during Nawaz-era while Sajidullah Khan was appointed as Assitant Manager at the same station,” Fawad Chaudhry had said.

The minister added that Mushahidullah himself heads the Senate Committee on Aviation which means “we are trusting someone with a vested interest” on matters related to aviation.

He had claimed that Mushahidullah received medical treatment on PIA’s expense which cost the national airline a whopping Rs3million.